JoeyB

Well done!   Much better first effort than mine! Dust will make for headaches. The spray decal sealer I first used made the ink bleed. The Krylon Crystal Clear does not make the ink bleed, even when spraying an hour after printing. Krylon was suggested to me by the guy who makes the decal paper. I do not know how a regular watch dial lume bond agent would react with the sealer and decal. That's why I first tried the water based acrylic glow paint. That not only worked well, but it gave the grainy look desired, and when I mess it up it wipes right off with a wet Q-Tip. I love do-overs! 
 

Yes.

https://rwg.cc/topic/145626-chapter-2-replacement-insert-for-rolex-gmt-master-6542-perspexbakelite#comment-1098401

https://rwg.cc/topic/173703-coin-edge-bezel-set-for-rolex-6542#comment-1370145

 

Thank goodness you didn't say van Gogh...    

There is no doubt that RWG is the place for vintage Rolex replicas. 


 

For gilt chapter ring dials I use clear decal paper, printed at the highest dpi my printer allows without making puddles, photo setting. I lightly swirl sand the bras dial by hand using a burgundy scotchbrite pad. The light swirls give a more gilt look.  In the decal pictured, the white is actually clear in use. Most inkjet printers do not print white, so, the brass shows through where the white is.

I used pictures from the internet, then tweaked in my photoshop program. I'm no computer techie, so I did it all the hard way. Made it round, sized, then sharpening all the script by enlarging the picture and smoothing by each pixel. A lot of experimentation, learning what worked and what didn't. I actually enjoyed it, so something must be wrong with me... 
 

I think that on the vintage models that used the 6mm crown, the '+' crown is the finishing touch. 
 

The small crown Sub is my favorite as well. I don't know if the 6536 used a 6mm '+' crown or not, as the 6204 did. I think Rafflestime still has some at a very good price, but they do need some modding. I ordered several in case of modding mistakes, and for any that break. Surprisingly, so far, not one has failed. Make certain to get the right tube for your case by measurement.

http:// http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/140709-6mm-brevet-crown/?hl=%2B6mm+%2Bbrevet#entry1046879

I have used the water slide decals for a few years now. I think that the gilt chapter ring dials in particular, they are very good. It did take a lot of trial and error to figure out allowing the brass background to show through the printed dial portion, but the results were well worth the effort. The 'patina' can be controlled by your use of the spray sealer. I use a water based acrylic 'glow paint' for my lume.

1 hour ago, Nanuq said:

 

JoeyB, I like your hands even more.  I just need your hours hand and I'm set.  Maybe your minutes hand too, it appears to be 1mm longer than mine.

Take it easy there, sailor! I like you too, but...

After trying to make a satisfactory hand from pieces, I found the hour hand I finally used at Otto Frei, part number is HAN 7008. $4 per set (includes 14mm hour hand, not suitable for the 6204 or 6542).   It still needs some modding. but I looked for several years and could not find the right shaped pencil hour hand. I used 1500 sandpaper and shaped the edges towards the point more. It didn't need much, but some for certain. The Frei hour hand hole is 1.55mm, just a hair too big for ETA. I carefully squeezed the hole smaller to make it fit. At $4 a set, I ordered 3 sets so I could mess up one or two and still be OK.

The minute hand is the one from Helenarou for ETA, 13mm. Both hands are silver. It is my opinion, having never seen a genuine 6204 in person and only in pictures, that the hands were not gilt but brass. Brass being used for ocean going tools. I used the 1500 sandpaper to take the hands to bare brass, and let them tarnish a tad. They don't tarnish much at all once in the sealed case. The chapter ring itself on chapter ring dials is 26mm in diameter. The minute hand then must be 13mm to reach the chapter ring, as Rolex did with the 6204 and early 6542, and likely the Turn-O-Graph. They went to the 12mm hand within 2 or 3 years at most, based on pictures I've seen. Somewhere in 1956 or so.

 The simplicity of the 6204 is captivating. When those long hands reach out across from each other, it is mesmerizing. I wish I could take better pics to show, but you'll have yours soon enough to show us all!  

Let me know if I can help.

The 6204 is the only Submariner I own. I first saw a picture of it as a 'Sub-Aqua' on Stefano Mazzariol blog that freddy333 referred to during the 6542 builds. It's really a tough call for me between the 6542 and the 6204. I love `em both!

The 'Brevet +" case engraving is by our own JMB.

My 1675 is made using a cartel 1655. I used a genuine 5.3mm crown. The key to making the case look thin is to have a proper bevel on the top line of the case, and take the bottom line down to thin.

My 16710 is built to the specs listed by bklm1234: https://rwg.cc/topic/144657-making-a-gen-style-16710-case-out-of-a-16570-case-and-tw-bezel-assembly?page=2

My first rep was a stainless Day-Date President a friend bought in Taiwan in 1983.  My friend told me that the shopkeeper had many reps, but kept the 'good ones' in the back. It was very nice, visually accurate, but it did have a Seiko quartz movement. It gained two seconds every 6 months. I wore it for more than 10 years.

He became ill shortly after.  

Noob. (Lol! I gotcha by two months! )

Happy Holidays, and Season's Greetings to all!

Καλά Χριστούγεννα σε όλους!

I pray that the land of my ancestors and people of Greece have a much better coming year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Back in 2009 when my Son chose to go some 4,000 miles away to U of Hawaii, Lanikai, whose parents live very near the university, volunteered to keep tabs for me. Add in Omni, who lives on Maui and whose Son also went to U of H and was the same age, same year of school, and this parent felt so much more at ease. Lanikai is my favorite beach. I still used the excuse to go to Hawaii a few times a year!

RWG is a great place for watches. But it is a far better place for the people.

Mele Kalikimaka !!

Send an email to Ken at Rafflestime. I had to use the 3mm tubes he had to fit the crown. Tell him you need the 'big ones'.  Initially he sent smaller threaded tubes that did not fit the cartel Explorer II case, or the Tiger case. The larger one fit fine, sealed to waterproof. I have not had a single issue with the threads/tube. Not one failure in 4 years now, on 3 watches including my daily 6542 wearer. Consistency being chancy, the one on my 6204 is surprisingly smooth.

Thanks! The dials took some work, time and patience, but I think I got it right. I do wish I had younger, more steady hands for the lume!  

I can't find the link for the 13mm minute hand on Helenarou's site. They were pictured in gold, and they said silver was available. I bought two sets, the first shipment was the 12mm, so they had to ship again. I bought them back in the summer of 2014.

On my 6204 Submariner, the longer hand is very apparent and striking. It makes the watch.  https://rwg.cc/topic/172220-look-ma-new-hands

On the 6542, likely because of the complications, it is not as prevalent. When I put my two 6542s side by side you really have to look to see the one with the longer hand.  So, I don't know how important it might be to you.

That depends on what year build you are trying to replicate.

First off, the ETA 2846 would be the slow beat movement, use the same GMT conversion parts as the ETA 2836, and closer to the original.

Early 6542s had the 13mm minute hand, later and serviced 6542s had the 12mm, which was used in sport Rolex to 2006 when they went maxi. Helenarou is the only one I know of for the 13mm hand. The hands that most suppliers sell are good and quite acceptable. I like Clark's hands, sold as 'Tudor' to fit the ETA movement.   

The first pic is the 13mm minute hand on an ETA 2846. Both the minute hand and the GMT hand go right to the gilt ring when looking straight on.

The 2nd pic is a 12mm minute hand from Rafflestime on a DG3804b movement.

Mine is the 1655 using the 5.3mm crown.

Oh, I meant 'Palin's Peaks'...

Thanks, I appreciate the insight.

Did anyone consider 'Palin's Peak'?

President Obama renamed Mt. McKinley to be Denali, it's original native name. How do our resident Alaskan members look at this? I know we have at least one member in nanuq. I'd be interested to know how the change is being received in Alaska by Alaskans.